GOP rival announces Justin Amash primary

A businessman is challenging libertarian Rep. Justin Amash in the Republican primary for his Michigan House seat.

Brian Ellis announced the campaign on Tuesday, saying Amash “has turned his back on conservative principles.” Ellis’s campaign bio describes him as a “fiscal and social conservative Republican who embraces traditional values, limited government, and strong national security.”

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Amash has been an outspoken libertarian in the House, leading the charge to dismantle the National Security Agency over surveillance disclosed this summer. A favorite of the tea party and supporter of former presidential candidate Ron Paul, Amash has bucked his party on numerous occasions, including voting against John Boehner for speaker of the House in January after being kicked off the House Budget Committee for not voting with the GOP.

Ellis, who founded an investment advisory firm, is reportedly well-funded by a group of state business leaders who want to see a more traditional Republican in the House.

At the end of July, Amash’s campaign had $164,000 cash on hand, according to FEC filings. In a late September appeal on his Facebook page, he asked supporters to donate by the quarterly fundraising deadline, saying he was behind his minimum and had “heard in the last few weeks that the Washington political class is scheming to take me out. If we don’t hit our minimum target, they will be emboldened to run a challenger against me.”

In his announcement, Ellis hit Amash on a number of votes in Congress, including twice voting “present” on a bill that would have defunded Planned Parenthood, also voting “present” instead of supporting the Keystone XL pipeline and voting against the House budget.

“I will advance conservative solutions by voting to balance the budget, reduce the tax burden, expand American energy sources, and defend the right to life and our Constitution,” Ellis said in a statement.